Adjustable vane windmills

Abstract

A system of rotatably and pivotally mounted radially extended bent supports for radially extending windmill rotor vanes in combination with axially movable radially extended control struts connected to the vanes with semi-automatic and automatic torque and other sensing and servo units provide automatic adjustment of the windmill vanes relative to their axes of rotation to produce mechanical output at constant torque or at constant speed or electrical quantities dependent thereon.

I claim: 
     
       1. An adjustable vane windmill comprising, in operative combination, a frame assembly, a rotor and control assembly, said rotor and control assembly comprised of a rotor assembly and a control assembly, said rotor and control assembly rotatably supported on said frame assembly, said frame assembly supported on the ground; said rotor assembly comprising a hub, a plurality of rotor blades, struts, a rigid straight blade control shaft and a rigid straight shaft support sleeve, said rotor blades rotatably supported on said hub,   each of the rotor blades comprising a rigid blade frame and a rigid bent spar, a vane surface cover for said frame, each bent spar having a central straight portion and a peripheral straight portion bent at an angle to said central straight portion, each of the peripheral and central straight portions joined at a bend therebetween, each of the central straight portions rotatably supported on said hub, each of the peripheral straight portion of each of the bent spars extending at an angle to the length of said control shaft.   each blade frame having an inner, central, edge and an outer, radial edge, a leading edge and a trailing edge and said cover forming a windward vane surface on one side thereof and a rear vane surface on the other side thereof,   one portion of a pivotal strut-vane joint firmly attached to each blade frame intermediate the inner, central, edge and the outer, radial, edge thereof, the peripheral portion of each spar being attached to a blade frame,   said hub firmly supported on and attached to the shaft support sleeve and said sleeve rotatably supported on said control assembly, said hub comprising a rigid plate firmly fixed to said sleeve and supporting spar shaft bearings, the central straight portion of each of said spars pivotally held on said hub in a bearing in a radially symmetrical array about said sleeve,   said blade control shaft being co-axial with said shaft support sleeve and supported by said shaft support sleeve and being movable along the length of said shaft-support sleeve,   a collar firmly fixed to said blade control shaft at its rear end and supporting one part of each of a plurality of a strut-collar joints at positions equispaced around said collar   a second part of a vane-strut joint fixedly attached to one, radial, end of each of said struts, and a second part of a strut-collar joint fixedly attached to the other, central, end of each of said struts distant from said one end, said first and second parts of said vane-strut joint and said first and second parts of said vane-collar joints being pivotally connected, and each of said struts being rigid and extending from a strut-vane joint on the rotor blade to a strut-collar joint, and power output means operatively connected to said shaft support sleeve,   said frame assembly comprising a vertically extending pedestal support and a pedestal on said support and said rotor and control assembly rotatably mounted on said pedestal for rotation about a vertical axis, and   said control assembly comprising longitudinally movable means attached to said blade control shaft.   
     
     
       2. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positioning means comprises motor means attached to said blade control shaft and a control means is attached to said motor means. 
     
     
       3. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positioning means comprises means responsive to tension in said struts and is attached to said blade control shaft. 
     
     
       4. Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positioning means comprises means responsive to the speed of rotation of said rotor assembly. 
     
     
       5. Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positioning means comprises means responsive to wind velocity. 
     
     
       6. Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positioning means comprises means responsive to a combination of the speed of rotation of said rotor assembly and wind velocity. 
     
     
       7. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positioning means comprises a helically threaded connection between said blade control shaft and said shaft support sleeve and said blade control shaft is longitudinally movable with respect to said connection. 
     
     
       8. Apparatus as in claim 7, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positioning means comprises motor means attached to said blade control shaft and a control means is attached to said motor means. 
     
     
       9. Apparatus as in claim 7, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positioning means comprises means responsive to tension in said struts and is attached to said blade control shaft. 
     
     
       10. Apparatus as in claim 8, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positionig means comprises means responsive to the speed of rotation of said rotor assembly. 
     
     
       11. Apparatus as in claim 8, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positioning means comprises means responsive to wind velocity. 
     
     
       12. Apparatus as in claim 8, wherein said longitudinally adjustable positioning means comprises means responsive to a combination of the speed of rotation of said rotor assembly and wind velocity. 
     
     
       13. Apparatus as in claim 9, wherein said means responsive to tension in said struts comprises a sprocket wheel, a chain, a weight, and a ring, said sprocket wheel fixedly attached to a rotatable sleeve which is fixedly attached to a ball nut, said blade control shaft having a helically threaded portion, and said portion of said blade control shaft threadedly engages said ball nut, a chain engaging said sprocket wheel, a weight attached to a lower end of said chain, an externally smooth surfaced ring supported on said frame assembly above said weight and extending laterally beyond said frame assembly, said sprocket wheel and rotatable sleeve and helically threaded portion of said blade control shaft and said ball nut being co-axial.